Wednesday, March 5

Mayor Lurie calls for a raid at 16th Street and police nets one ounce of drugs. The San Francisco Police Department declines to say what kind of drugs were confiscated.

The raid came a day after a post in which the mayor filmed himself at the 16th Street plaza. “I see what you see,” he wrote on X. “All San Franciscans deserve safe and clean streets — whether that’s on 6th Street, in Western Addition or the Mission. My administration is actively working on how we deploy our street teams. And if you are dealing drugs in this city, we are coming after you.”

Monday, March 10 and Tuesday, March 11

The day before police moved in, Mission Local spent 10 hours over two days documenting the cat and mouse game with police and staffers from the Department of Public Works. On the March 11, Mayor Daniel Lurie stopped by.

Two men arrive with melting bags of frozen shrimp, which they sell for $10 apiece on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
Two men arrive with melting bags of frozen shrimp, which they sell for $10 apiece on Monday, March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
A woman received assistance by paramedics and was later taken on an ambulance on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
A woman received assistance by paramedics and was later taken on an ambulance on Monday, March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
A look of the Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
A look of the Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza at 10 a.m. March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie checking on people hanging out on Julian Street on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma. on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie checking on people hanging out on Julian Avenue on Monday, March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The sidewalk next to the Southwestern 16th Street BART station remains busy with vendors late at night on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The sidewalk next to the Southwest 16th Street BART station remains busy with vendors late at night on Monday, March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The sidewalk next to the Southwestern 16th Street BART station remains busy with vendors late at night on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The sidewalk next to the Southwestern 16th Street BART station remains busy with vendors late at night on Monday, March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
The Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza is busy with vendors once all police presence left on Monday March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
16th Street Plaza. March 10, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
People set up shop next to the Northeastern 16th Street BART station on Tuesday March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
People set up shop next to the NE 16th Street BART station. March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
Vendors set up shop outside of the Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza on Tuesday March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
Vendors set up shop outside of the Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
A vendor offering cleaning and beauty supplies and olive oil outside of the Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza on Tuesday March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.
A vendor offering cleaning and beauty supplies and olive oil outside of the Southwestern 16th Street BART plaza on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. Photo by Oscar Palma.

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I’ve been a Mission resident since 1998 and a professor emeritus at Berkeley’s J-school since 2019. I got my start in newspapers at the Albuquerque Tribune in the city where I was born and raised. Like many local news outlets, The Tribune no longer exists. I left daily newspapers after working at The New York Times for the business, foreign and city desks. Lucky for all of us, it is still here.

As an old friend once pointed out, local has long been in my bones. My Master’s Project at Columbia, later published in New York Magazine, was on New York City’s experiment in community boards.

As founder/executive editor at ML, I've been trying to figure out how to make my interest in local news sustainable. If Mission Local is a model, the answer might be that you - the readers - reward steady and smart content. As a thank you for that support we work every day to make our content even better.

Reporting from the Mission District and other District 9 neighborhoods. Some of his personal interests are bicycles, film, and both Latin American literature and punk. Oscar's work has previously appeared in KQED, The Frisc, El Tecolote, and Golden Gate Xpress.

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